1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information display apparatus and a meta-information display method that acquires meta-information of content from content servers spread across a network and displays the meta-information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, devices that store digital video content which can then be browsed, such as DVD recorders that include a hard drive, have become increasingly common. While the main function of a DVD recorder is digitally recording a television broadcast and allowing a user to view the recorded broadcast, some DVD recorders make possible the storage and browsing of personal content from digital still cameras, digital video cameras, or the like.
Furthermore, systems in which content stored in a plurality of digital video content servers is centrally managed and browsed, such as the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) and media servers, are also becoming widespread. There are systems in which stored digital video content is transferred, decoded in real time, and viewed, using a local area network environment installed within a household. It is thus possible to retrieve/view digital content without knowing which server the content is stored.
In general, with such systems, when generating a content retrieval screen, meta-information concerning all content stored in all content servers is collected, and the generation of the retrieval screen is carried out when the meta-information has been collected (refer to Digital Living Network Alliance Overview and Vision—White Paper—June 2004 (http://www.dlna.org/industry/about/DLNA_Overview.pdf)).
However, with the conventional method, the amount of meta-information concerning all content increases along with the increase in the number of content. For this reason, there is a problem that a relatively long time may be required to generate an initial screen, and there is also the possibility that the memory resources of the display device may become insufficient. A method in which only the meta-information concerning the content required for display is acquired can be considered as a method for circumventing the problems. However, with such a method, the meta-information required for display is collected each time the display status changes. As a result, a relatively long downtime may arise before the next screen is displayed, and a user cannot search or browse content with ease.